Automating the Accounts Payable (AP) function is a hot topic of discussion for school finance departments, but many are discovering that the answer is not straightforward and there isn't a cookie cutter answer that they can implement.
As schools start to investigate and implement various solutions, they are discovering that Accounts Payable impacts all staff in all areas of the school, from teaching, executive and ICT. A successful solution is therefore highly dependent on your organizational culture and attitude towards change.
This article outlines the key areas you should consider when searching for a solution to automate Accounts Payable.
WHY… are you looking to automate Accounts Payable?
Clearly define WHY you are looking at AP automation so the outcome can be objectively measured. Once you clearly define the problem to be solved and the outcome you wish to achieve, then you can objectively monitor the outcome and ensure your project is successful.
To say that the project is to "increase efficiency" is too vague and unrealistic, so clearer goals must be set and communicated with staff to explain why change is needed.
For example, an organisation may be looking to:
Reduce time spent on non-value adding tasks such as creditor invoice entry, to increase time to be spent on value adding tasks. What value-adding tasks are you looking to complete?
Go paperless and reduce/eliminate paper usage for maintaining purchase orders and creditor invoices
Speed up the approval and process times for invoices and improve creditor payment days
Improve cashflow forecasting with accurate ordering and creditor payment schedules
WHAT… other considerations and constraints must the project consider?
For instance,
What policies and procedures need to be adhered to in a new AP system?
What types of purchases are going to be included/excluded in the new AP system?
What is your school's ICT Strategy?
What current systems and software do you have that can/will contribute to designing the new AP system?
What is your staff and organisational culture towards technology and change?
HOW… are you going to create and roll out a new AP Automated system?
There are many technology options available to create an automated Accounts Payable system, but be prepared that you may require a complete re-design of the entire function in order to achieve all of your objectives.
How will purchase orders be incorporated?
How can all types of purchases be included in the new system?
How can the current manual signing of documents be adapted in the new system?
How can you go paperless through the entire AP process from raising POs to invoice payment?
How are you going to roll out the new system to the whole organisation?
WHERE to from here?
Precision has extensive experience working with school management systems and other mainstream financial systems, so we understand the features and workings of purchase orders and accounts payable.
Designing, testing, and implementing a new automated AP system can be a long stressful process for the staff involved, who may not have the skills or time to manage such a large and complex project.
Precision can assist with project managing the design and implementation of a new automated AP system to ensure a successful project outcome, or we can help in other smaller areas such as:
Reviewing and developing purchasing policies and procedures
Discussing ICT strategies and technology options
Assisting with system design, set up and testing
Formally documenting processes, procedures, workflows and FAQ’s
"Hand holding" to be on call to support finance staff with questions and concerns
Measuring and monitoring project success
Get in touch with the team at Precision to get the help you need.